Where the Dead Men Lost Their Bones
by Mia-Zeklos
Summary: In the end, when all is said and done, the only thing they'll always have is each other.
1. Lust

**Author's Notes: All in all, this is going to be based on the seven deadly sins and then on the seven heavenly virtues (which means fourteen chapters in total) and it'll be focused mainly on Jack and Ianto. It takes place into my usual Time Lord!Ianto universe (perhaps in the same as **_**As Certain Dark Things Are To Be Loved **_**but totally independent for it) so expect that too at some point. Those will be mostly drabbles (which for me means ~1000-1500 words a chapter). The title is from _The Waste Land_ by T. S. Eliot.**

**This one is based mostly on interviews where Gareth David Lloyd said that Ianto knots his tie in a half-Windsor but ties Jack up with a Windsor and also that when, in **_**Adrift **_**Jack kept calling Ianto while he talked with Gwen it was because he'd tied him up and left him there.**

**Anyway. Enjoy and let me know what you think!**

_Lust – the insatiable need for sex or things of sexual nature, involving thoughts, desires and actions._

Jack watched his lover with something between awe and disbelief as Ianto dutifully tied his other wrist to the bed (which was conveniently a four poster one and big enough that Jack's arms, even spread as they were, could barely reach the two ends) with one of his ties – pink and black stripes this time.

"You've got to be joking," he groaned as Ianto tightened the knot.

"I know," the young man nodded. "I'd usually go for a half-Windsor but I think it wouldn't be reliable enough for your situation. Do try to keep still."

Jack obeyed – not that it was much of a surprise. He'd long since got used to Ianto's dominant streak, and had done nothing but encourage it so far. Leadership had been dropped into his hands by circumstances years ago, but when it came to _this_, he rather enjoyed following someone else's lead.

And Ianto had been nothing but perfect for that ever since the very beginning. After Jack had returned to Torchwood, it had only intensified in strength. He barely even bothered with putting on a show of struggling. Ianto knew. Of course he knew.

His gaze followed his partner impatiently as he went in and out of the room several times, focusing on getting ready for whatever he had planned.

Jack closed his eyes. God help him, Ianto's footsteps seemed to get farther and farther away. He remembered the last time they'd done this, a week ago, during the Flat Home case. Just going to prepare something, Jack, I'll be back in a minute, and he'd left him tied up to his own desk while he'd taken his sweet time talking to Gwen on the phone. Shouting didn't do much good, either, Jack had discovered that night.

Neither did threats, he tried to remind himself as Ianto slipped back into the room. Actually, threats were usually promptly tested on Jack himself (not that he minded that terribly), but–

His train of thought derailed as soon as he took a good look at his lover. Ianto had taken his shirt off, but his trousers and tie were still in place, which only made it worse. Or better. Jack couldn't be sure, really; not when thinking had suddenly became a rather difficult task.

"Do you like it?" Ianto had noticed him noticing, of course. He stroked the tie and Jack briefly got lost in the colours that flooded his immediate vision. Red, white, black. His tie, his skin, his trousers. Ianto was a breathtaking sight just like this; looking like an ancient deity which had passed through all of time and space without marring his perfection in the process. His eyes – now darker to the point where even the irises seemed midnight blue – held all the secrets of the Universe and yet his body was young; very much the type Jack had seen on the statues of emperors he'd seen in Ancient Rome during his travels. He couldn't tear his eyes away.

"Ianto–" His voice was more of a whimper than anything else and he wasn't quite sure what he wanted to say – or if he wanted to say anything at all – but he didn't get the chance either way.

"Shhh," Ianto cooed and Jack's mind made an unfortunate comparison to the way the young man usually spoke when he was trying to calm Myfawny down. "It's all good. I'll take care of you, Jack." Feather-light kisses were pressed all over his face and jaw as Ianto crawled on the bed and between his legs. The Captain felt the tickling of his tie brushing his chest when his lover leaned in further and he managed to get out a, "Kiss me, please."

He obliged and Jack's hands just itched to touch him. Ianto had probably felt him struggling against his bonds, though, because he pulled back immediately.

"Now that just won't do," he chided gently (and yet, Jack couldn't help but feel the steel beneath the rich silk of his voice). "I told you to keep calm. Think you can do that for me?"

Jack nodded eagerly and Ianto smiled, warm and affectionate now.

"That's right." His voice was a hypnotic murmur against Jack's skin and he closed his eyes once again, this time pleased rather than desperate. "That's right, Jack. Perfect. You're being so good for me."

"Always," Jack choked out and he was aware of the vow behind it as he let Ianto drag him into the abyss.


	2. Gluttony

**Author's Notes: This one is a bit darker and longer than last time, but that's what served the prompt, so here it is. Gluttony. Sticking to canon timeline for now; will develop it onward from that later.**

**Warnings: drug use is discussed and acted upon.**

**I hope you like it and, as usual, don't be afraid to let me know what you think.**

_Gluttony – over indulgences of anything to the extreme. Alcoholism and drug use are considered gluttony._

Gwen made her way through the abandoned building, trying not to flinch back in disgust of some of the things she had to step over. She'd been in the force for just long enough to have done this a couple of times, but it had always been strangers she'd had to find. Anonymous people she'd ever have to see again; not friends. Which happened to be what she was looking for here.

"Hey." She crouched next to a girl that had curled up on the floor; her eyes closed but her breathing too frantic for her to be actually asleep. "Sorry, I'm looking for a friend. Could you perhaps–"

Her voice died when the girl – about twenty, Gwen conceded – opened her eyes to look at her. Apparently there was something that classified her as not-police because she asked groggily, "Who're you looking for?"

"His name's Ianto." The girl snorted. "Tall, dark hair, his face is all eyes and cheekbones."

"He's asleep. Was asleep last time I looked at him, anyway." She waved her hand vaguely to the left. "That way."

Gwen huffed out a 'thank you' and stood up. So she'd been right. And, God, did she wish she hadn't been.

Ianto had disappeared last night. He'd got out of the Hub earlier and told Jack that he'd meet him at his flat and, when Jack had arrived, he hadn't been there. Jack had checked everywhere he'd thought of, but to no avail, and then he'd called her.

She hadn't told him of her suspicions so far but, since she'd seen Ianto mess about Owen's lab even when there was no autopsy or patient waiting for them to take care of, she'd checked all the places in Cardiff where a bunch of drug addicts could be – which was exactly where Ianto would go if he wanted to be just a nameless, unrecognisable face.

And here she was, at eight in the morning, going through the last location she'd thought of. She'd finally hit the jackpot, it seemed, unless there was another dark-haired tall Ianto who'd made poor decisions the night before.

The building had been abandoned before it had been finished at all. There were no doors and, to her dismay, Gwen was quickly reassured that it was a very familiar Ianto who took residence here. He was leaning against the wall, a think black cigarette between his long fingers. He didn't seem to have noticed her yet, and Gwen cursed under her breath.

_That_ attracted his attention.

"Gwen!" He gave her a little wave with his free hand, surprisingly cheery when compared to his otherwise frozen posture. "Hello. What brought you to my humble– Jesus Christ!"

His fingers reached up to touch the angry red mark Gwen's hand had left on his cheek and she felt her heart tight itself into a knot when he smiled. "That sort of tickles, you know–"

"What do you think you're doing here?" Gwen hissed as she took the cigarette from between his unresponsive fingers and threw it on the ground so she could step on it. "We've been looking for you for _hours_."

"Didn't make you do it, did I?" He belatedly realised what the fate of – well, whatever the hell it was, frankly (Gwen couldn't say she'd seen anything like it before) – and looked down at her angrily. "You realise that I've got only two left, right? What the hell was that for?"

"What's that?" Gwen asked, ignoring his outrage and pointing down at the cigarette. "Where did you get it from?" Ianto's mind was usually blindingly fast but he frowned at being bombarded with questions now. He wasn't himself right now, she realised that, and that was exactly what upset her so much. She'd lost two of her best friends and she wasn't losing another one because he'd suddenly decided that he didn't fancy living much longer.

"A Kanatian tradesman; liked a good deal now and then, especially with soldiers. Knew we'd never come back if something went wrong. I got them from him. Kanatian cigarettes; a bit strong for you lot, but I'm doing fine."

Okay, perhaps it was time to call Jack. As much as she didn't want to say anything about this to him – she could only imagine how it would make him feel – maybe he would be able to help.

"Jack's worried sick about you," Gwen said as she pulled at his hand and he followed her reluctantly down the corridor. "He thought you might be _dead_. Don't you think we've had enough of that?"

"I'm sorry that my private attempt of a getaway got in the way of your sorrow." Ianto's tone was surprisingly scathing for someone whose mind wasn't exactly crystal clear. Maybe the effect was wearing off. "You and Jack aren't afraid to feel the whole thing through. I can't do that. I'm not capable of it. I'd like to forget for a few hours without any of you mother henning me." When Gwen didn't say anything, he kept going. "I just want it to stop."

Gwen abruptly stopped and turned around to face him. "You want what to stop?"

There was so much pain in his eyes that she almost wanted to look away. "The noise, Gwen. There's so much noise in my head. I just want it to _stop_."

Definitely time to call Jack. Gwen ignored the feeble protests her phone's sudden appearance produced from Ianto and dialled Jack's number as fast as he could while still dragging her colleague after her.

"Did you find him?" Jack's voice was tense and Gwen hurried to reassure him.

"Yes, I've got him. He's fine. Well, mostly. I think he's having some sort of hallucinations."

There was silence on the other end of the line and then a deep sigh of resignation. "He's taken something, hasn't he? Did he say what it was?"

"He did, but I'm not sure what to make of it. Whatever it is, it looks like a cigarette, long and black– Kanatian, I think? That's what he said."

"Get him home." Jack's voice was small and defeated and Gwen could tell that he didn't have the power left in him to be surprised or disappointed. "He need to take a shower; even a cold bucket of water will do if you're willing to dump one on his head – and trust me, I'd support you in that decision. He needs any sort of water you can get in or on him; he might faint otherwise."

"His flat's too far away, I'll get him to mine. That okay?" There was an affirmative sound. "Jack– did you know about this? Has he done it before?"

"Not in front of me, no. But he has a history of it. I was hoping that–" There was a short, bitter laugh. "I was hoping that he'd come to me if he needed support."

"He said he bought it himself. Mentioned something about soldiers. Is he hallucinating, or–"

"I'm afraid not. I don't know how or why, but it's happened at some point."

"You mean–"

"I don't mean anything, Gwen. Yes, he might not be from around here; no, it doesn't really matter right now. Go easy on him, okay?"

Gwen ended the call before she could say something she'd regret about Jack's acceptance and just how easy she was tempted to go on Ianto at the moment. They had just got of the building where Rhys was waiting for them in the car. He looked tired and Gwen felt a stab of guilt for putting him through this yet again and pushed Ianto – perhaps a bit more roughly than it was strictly necessary – on the back seat.

"You know, after all of this," she turned around to face him as the car took off and he blinked several times, as if trying to get her into focus. "After all of this, if there was one thing Jack believed in, it was you."

"I'm not responsible for Jack." Ianto's voice was quiet and strangely bleary. "He's a grown man."

"Yes." Gwen was trying to touch something inside him, strike some chord, and was apparently failing, which hurt more than she'd expected to because she'd be damned if she lost someone else now. "But he relies on you."

There was silence from the back seat and when Ianto spoke, he sounded dead.

"A mistake made by many."

**o.O.o**

"Jack?" Ianto dropped his keys in front of the mirror in the hallway as he closed the door.

"In here." Jack's voice was coming faintly from the kitchen and Ianto followed the sound.

His head was clearer now and, as he'd started to put himself back together, the emotion that had reigned above anything else was shame. Yes, all the chaos in his head was back on again, but it was worth it for the fact that his thought was on his usual level and he was able to control himself. The conversation he'd had with Gwen almost an hour ago could have gone much worse, and he realised it.

She'd been right. Of course she had been. He'd failed.

"What are you doing here?" He asked quietly as he leant against the door frame of the kitchen. Jack gestured at the cat food package on the ground next to him without looking up.

"Feeding the beast you recently acquired." Ianto's cat was one they'd saved. After the Dalek invasion, they'd found the kitten in the ruins of a house and he'd brought it home. "A British shorthair called Sydney Carton? Can you get any more pretentious?"

Ianto managed a week smile but abandoned it quickly in favour of speaking. "Jack, I'm sorry. I didn't–"

"You don't need to explain yourself to me," Jack cut him off. "I'm not your father. I can't tell you what to do or not to do."

"No, you can't," Ianto agreed carefully. "But Gwen was more right than she realised. You relied on me, and I let you down."

"You're allowed to have a moment of weakness every now and then."

"No, I'm not," Ianto objected softly. "I'm not allowing it to myself. You and Gwen needed to take your time; I could just keep going, as long as I could do this once in a while. And by the way, about the cigarettes–"

"I don't care where you've taken them from," Jack said quickly and Ianto felt relief wash over him. "Just give them to me, yeah? Please. Give them to me so I can destroy whatever's left of them."

"You don't need to do it."

"Oh, trust me, I do." Jack raised himself from the ground and took Ianto's face in his hands; his fingers brushing his lover's neck. "I understand the need you feel for them, but next time, you can come to me. Talk to me." There was so much earnestness in his words and his eyes that Ianto's heart broke. "I can make you forget, if that's what you want."

"It's not." It was quite a revelation even to himself, but it was the truth. "It's not what I want. In fact," he closed his eyes and brought Jack closer so that he could envelop him in his arms. "never let me forget any of this."


	3. Greed

**Author's Notes: This was meant to be a somewhat lighter chapter when compared to the last one, and I think I managed to make it so. The prompt was a bit overlooked this time, but the plot took over, so I think you'll still see the traces Greed's left over the whole thing if you read the description below.**

**References: Ianto using the loci method is from **_**The House that Jack Built **_**where it's mentioned that he uses it as a remembrance technique and had it based on the house he'd grown up with. If anyone's unfamiliar with what the loci method is – it's a memory palace.**

**I hope you enjoy the chapter and feel free to let me know what you think!**

_Greed – the need for material possessions or material wealth. Greedy people are usually easy to bribe and will take any bet._

"That's really not a good idea," Ianto said, eyes still closed. The fact that they'd got this far was a small victory by itself. Jack groaned.

"We've talked about this," he insisted. "We need to be able to control it, which means we need practice. Go on!"

Ianto had placed his fingertips on Jack's temples and had done little else so far despite the deal they had made.

"Okay," Ianto sighed. "Go on, then. You're first. Open up."

Jack tried to clear his head and then slowly lowered his barriers to let Ianto in. They'd been trying this for some time now – testing the boundaries of the control they had over their own minds. Ianto had had his training in Torchwood One and Jack – in the Time Agency, so they could exchange experience. They'd even made a bet about who would manage to stay longer in the other's mind.

Or at last, that's what Jack had aimed for. Truth was, though, Ianto didn't seem inclined to follow through.

"Jack?" Ianto's voice was persistent and rather irritated. "Are we going to do this or not?"

"Doing it now." Jack hurried to lower his shields even further and let Ianto in. "Go on."

He could feel the intrusion, but it was far gentler than he'd expected it to be. Ianto hesitantly made his way through Jack's thoughts, as delicately as he could manage, stopping here and there to look at one thing or another without really disturbing anything.

"You're doing great," Jack said. "Keep going."

He felt more than saw Ianto's agreement and Jack sensed it when Ianto kept pushing. He could feel it when Ianto reached places of his mind where even he didn't wander often. And then, just as he reached into lands that were unknown even to Jack himself–

"That's it," Ianto said and let go of Jack just as the Captain pressed the button on the top. "I can't get any further."

"And that's three minutes and twenty-eight seconds," Jack announced. "Good job," he admitted grudgingly. "Your turn."

Ianto grimaced. "Are you sure? Have you tried doing this with Gwen? Maybe she can help you just as much as I can to expand your skills."

"Come on, quit stalling," Jack protested immediately. He'd seen this coming, so he was prepared. "Gwen doesn't have any sort of training over this!"

"Well, 'bout time she got some, then."

"Ianto." Jack gripped his lover's shoulders tightly and forced him to meet his eyes. "This is supposed to be me trying to see how far I can go and you trying to not let me in too far. We agreed on this."

Ianto nodded quickly. "We did, yes." He licked his lips nervously and then smiled brightly. "Okay. Seeing as I lasted more than you thought I would and you owe me a fiver already, I'll try to be merciful."

"Ten quid says I'll make it up to five minutes," Jack said and raised an eyebrow, trying to make a challenge out of the whole situation. He knew Ianto wouldn't be able to resist.

"Ten quid says you won't last more than two," Ianto said unceremoniously and Jack could feel the need of a healthy competition rising in him too as he nodded.

"Good. Let's get started."

Ianto's smile grew all the wider and his fingers returned to Jack's face. "Okay." His hands reached for the stopwatch and he hit the button before dropping it back on the table. "Go!"

Jack wandered through the door Ianto had opened for him and found himself in a house – big and bright and strangely _red_ wherever he looked; more of a mansion than an actual house. There was a corridor in front of him – high ceiling, coloured windows and all – and several doors on each side of him.

_Turn around and get out of the house. _Ianto's voice echoed down the corridor and Jack spun around to look at him.

But he wasn't there. The place was still discouragingly deserted. Jack was on his own.

_Get out of the house if you want to see more_. The words sounded urgent now and Jack found himself shaking his head and opening a room on his left.

He barely got a glimpse of what was inside – a rather large room filled with books and one woman sitting in a chair near the bed – before the door was slammed in his face.

"Okay, okay," Jack muttered and headed for the front door. "Although I don't understand–"

His voice died.

He was standing in mid-air. The house was still right behind him and now Jack saw that it was a dark green outside and had an observation tower with several complicated looking telescopes he could see all the way from here. The whole building was just hanging into the nothingness, but the door was closed now. Closed and locked, as it appeared to be when Jack decided to check.

"Come on, let me in!" He growled out loud. He didn't mean the house anymore; just _anything _at all. Anything that wasn't just a stubborn black barrier.

_Still not a good idea_. Even the thought had a mournful edge to it. _Brace yourself._

And then Jack fell.

All around him were planets – the Solar System, he managed to recognise after a startled moment of sheer panic – that rapidly got farther and farther behind him until he could see the Milky Way (even though it was called Mutter's Spiral in Ianto's mind) and then its neighbouring galaxies – Andromeda and the Triangulum Galaxy – and then other, bigger ones, and each of their components was as bright and imposing as the other ones in Ianto's head. Their history started and then died right before his eyes and everywhere he looked, there was an incredible amount of information on every single star and planet and every particle of dust and–

Jack opened his eyes. He was back in his own head and even his usually overworked and rather burdened mind was currently an oasis of peace and quiet after the madness of Ianto's.

"One minute twenty," Ianto said as he put the stopwatch down. "I'm usually not the kind to say 'I told you so' but, well..."

"What the hell was that?" Jack's voice was strangely breathless and he tried to calm it down, not entirely successfully.

"It's the loci method." Jack just stared at him blankly. "I organise my brain so I can have access to everything I know as quickly as possible."

"No one can know that much about so many things," Jack objected incredulously, his voice still weaker than he was pleased with. "It's overwhelming; nobody would be able to function like that."

"I can," Ianto said softly. "When I say that I know everything, Captain, I'm not exaggerating."

The use of his rank was enough to tell Jack that Ianto was trying to be careful with him and the intake of information he was willing to give away.

"And where do you know the everything from?" Jack asked anyway, unable to stop himself. He'd given up solving the mystery that was Ianto Jones or at least, he'd done so outwardly, but the fire of the curiosity burning inside him was still going strong.

Ianto smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know?" he whispered in Jack's ear and then pulled back with a meaningful and rather pointed glance at Jack's coat pocket. "Now, I believe you owe me fifteen quid."

"Sorry?" Jack couldn't believe his ears. "You owe me a new brain!"

Ianto extended his hand expectantly and wiggled his fingers. "You said it. We agreed on this. It was a deal. Now pay up, Captain."

And this time, when the rank was used, Jack knew that the walls were firmly back in place and Ianto had hidden behind them yet again.


	4. Sloth

**Author's Notes: That's rather different from mere laziness that Sloth is usually made to be, so I think I managed to stay on topic. I'm sorry for the delay, by the way – I was really ill and could barely function, so there's that. I'm still not feeling very well – that's why this chapter is shorter.**

**References: The bit about the customised hell is from **_**In the Shadows**_**, which is an audiobook. That was pretty much what happened – he killed Gwen and then went looking for Ianto because he was sure that he'd forgive him no matter what.**

**I just figured that Jack might have moments like this occasionally – moments of weakness when he can't quite manage to keep going with his immortality (and the lack thereof of everyone around him) weighing on his back, so I hope I did a good job with it and, as always, feedback is welcome.**

_Sloth – sadness, depression, or the inability to feel joy._

Ianto tentatively knocked on the door of Jack's office and got a muffled 'Come in' as a response. He stepped inside as carefully as he could and closed the door behind himself, trying to keep quiet. Despite the invitation to enter, Jack appeared to be asleep. His arms were down on the desk in front of him and he was using them as a pillow for his head.

"Come here," Jack said and looked up, gesturing at the chair on the other side of the desk. "I was looking for you."

"Yeah, Gwen told me." He realised that an 'Are you okay?' was probably in order, but couldn't force himself to get it out. It was rather obvious just how not okay he was. "What is it?"

"It's just, I can't– I don't–" Jack's voice died. "I'm not even sure. It's just– bad."

"It does get bad occasionally," Ianto agreed. "Do you need something?"

"Yes," Jack whispered, almost fervently. "Yes, I do. But I don't know what it is." When Ianto started fidgeting with his cufflinks – and therefore gave himself time to think of an answer – the Captain continued. "And you always do. That's why I was looking for you."

"I think I might have an idea." When Jack looked up sharply, Ianto smiled. "Are you up for a small trip?"

Jack seemed confused. "How long would it take?" he asked after several moments of silence.

"It's mostly up to you. You decide once we get there, but until then... you'll just have to go by my word."

Jack frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Once we get to the car, this," Ianto pulled out a blindfold, "is coming into action. And no, we are _not_ having sex in my car," he hurried to add when Jack's eyes lit up. "Just– follow my lead, okay? Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do." The answer was immediate and rather heart warming – not that Ianto would ever let his lover know that.

"Good," he said instead. "Up you get then. We can tell Gwen we'll be back in tomorrow. After all, it's nearly eight in the evening; she should be leaving soon too."

After the smallest of pauses, the Captain nodded and followed him out of the office.

**o.O.o**

Jack had tried to guess the way they were going several times and had failed completely each and every one of them so eventually, he'd given up and let Ianto take him wherever it was he had on his mind. The outward giveaways of their location were rather curious and – if it had been anybody else – a bit alarming. He could hear the street noise fading away gradually and then it was replaced by a silence that neither of them felt the need to break. Jack didn't even have the urge to ask where they were going anymore. Ianto had taken the wheel – both literally and metaphorically – and that was enough for him to calm down.

It was also enough to distract him from the inexplicable misery that had been haunting him for the past several hours. It was something that had risen from the deep and dark corners of his soul where there was no life and no hope for anything; and he'd let it engulf him. He'd felt himself sinking and he'd been unable to do anything about it, except look for Ianto. He remembered the time when he'd been sent in a dimension that created a customised hell for anyone who entered it and how, after all the mistakes he'd made there, he'd still looked for Ianto, because he'd make things right. He'd fix everything. He'd understand.

The road wasn't as smooth now; there were bumps every now and then and Jack was quite sure that they'd got out of Cardiff altogether. Just when he was about to ask Ianto if this was some sort of revenge for a mistake Jack didn't remember doing and if he'd dump him here and leave him to walk back to the city, the car stopped and Jack heard his lover moving about on the seat next to his.

"Are we here already?" he asked. Ianto didn't answer and he continued. "You know, I'm surprised that nobody stopped you while we were still in Cardiff. I'm_ blindfolded_."

"I'll have you know that I'm a very intimidating individual even on a first look," Ianto assured him and Jack scoffed, partially amused and still trying to sympathise with his employee. He knew that Ianto was irritated by the fact that he was younger than all of the officials they dealt with and sweet-faced enough to look even younger than he was, and Jack had always tried to reassure him and tell him that he had to count it as an advantage. He had started doing so, eventually – Jack had seen him, and not just once, pretend to be a new policeman on his first day and he'd laughed wholeheartedly while watching his lover fumble about and bite his lips as if he was too scared to actually deal with the case. It was a tactic that often got them enough information to start investigating.

"There wasn't any police on the way, was there?"

"No," Ianto muttered and Jack felt his fingers snake into his hair and to the knot of the blindfold. "Come on, open your eyes."

Jack blinked several times to clear his vision and looked around. Ianto was already out of the car and standing by his side. They were in the middle of a field, and there was nothing around them. Quite literally, too; the car was the only think that stuck over two inches above the ground.

"Where are we?" He asked, still a bit dazed, and Ianto caught his right hand to help him out.

"Come on, get out. I'll show you."

Jack stepped out of the car and looked around them. There was still nothing all that remarkable on the field and he joined Ianto as he leant against the front of the car.

"Look up," Ianto whispered and Jack followed his eyes. And what he saw there took his breath away.

He could see the stars; probably as much of them as were visible at this time of the year. In Cardiff, with all its lights and car exhausts, he'd be lucky to get a glimpse at one or two of them, but here? There were millions.

"I thought you might miss them," Ianto said quietly and, when Jack shot a look in his direction, he saw that his eyes were glued to the sky as well.

"I did," Jack said. He was only realising it, and it showed in his voice, but he didn't care. "How did you know?"

This time, Ianto looked at him. His smile was sadder and yet more honest now, and his eyes were old as the Universe itself.

"Because I miss them too."


	5. Wrath

**Author's Notes: Well, this is even darker than the last one, which is rather worrying. It's also solving a part of canon that I never particularly liked, so I'm pleased with it.**

**As stated below, the quote I used is from **_**Risk Assessment**_**, one of the novels, and that exact scene was from Gwen's point of view. It was just handy and I thought it'd fit.**

**Anyway, I hope you like it and I'd love to know what you think.**

_Wrath – extreme anger, rage, hatred, or a need for vengeance or revenge. To feed the need of Wrath, people may even turn to physical abuse or murder._

"_Jack and Ianto never rowed. Shagged like rabbits, occasionally shot at each other, but never actual couple-y things like a row."_

_Gwen Cooper, "Risk Assessment"_

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about this!" Ianto seemed to be beyond caring whether he would shout himself hoarse or not. "The first arrived _months_ ago and you said they've stopped coming after the third one!"

The strangely shaped pods had started appearing in the early March and both Gwen and Ianto had been willing to investigate. At this point it had been more of a desperate desire to do anything to distract themselves from Tosh and Owen's absence, but Jack had still assured them that it didn't really matter and that they had more important things to fix on.

And they had done just that. Ianto would have figured it out much earlier, he supposed, but Jack had stored all the ones that had arrived later on several different places. He'd thought that he would make it easier for them that way – one thing less to worry about – and he'd wanted to take care of it alone. And, of course, it had only made things worse in the long run.

"I didn't think they'd hurt anyone!"

"Well, you thought wrong." Ianto's voice was unnaturally pleasant, but his eyes were flashing now and they looked the way they always did when he was angry – the usual calm, bright sky was now an ocean during a storm and the Captain couldn't stand to stare at them for too long. "Jack, my _sister _lives there. The neighbourhood where you've stored it all in a warehouse because it's not overpopulated? Yeah. That's exactly the place."

He was so close now that Jack could feel his breath on his face. He felt himself getting agitated too and not the least bit guilty about it; not when he'd been holding back quite a bit of information he'd learnt while handling the pod case by himself.

"Well, I didn't know this, did I?" When Ianto opened his mouth to speak, Jack didn't give him the chance. "No, you know what? I recognised her; I've seen her in your file." Ianto's unnaturally pale skin – which was, quite frankly, its usual state – became even paler, but he went on. "She was outside and she asked me what I was doing. I told her that the city council needed someone to measure the land that hasn't been built on. 'The city council?' she said. 'My brother works there'. We talked a bit, she figured out that I knew you, and then we talked about you. I told her that I'm your best friend. She laughed and when I asked her what's so funny, she said, 'Half of Britain thinks that'."

Ianto had tensed even more, but he still found it in himself to sneer, "Don't make this about me." Jack, though, knew that he'd hit on an old wound, and kept going.

"I told her that it was true; that you shared everything with me–"

"I do," Ianto put in quietly. His voice was a bit raspy and Jack wasn't sure if it was panic or fear that made it to be so. He laughed, the sound harsh in the small office.

"Really? Because we talked some more and, as it turned out, most of what you've told me about your entire life was you lying through your teeth and what for? She didn't know? She said you've just always been like that."

"Jack, please–"

"And I can't figure it out either," Jack said quietly. "Why would you lie to me about all those things? I'd never judge you, I'd never criticise a thing you've done. So why would you _do_ such a thing?"

Ianto's eyes were wide and terrified now, like those of a trapped animal or a child that had faced the worst in the world for the first time and Jack had to resist the urge to bring him in for a hug. After all, he was the one demanding answers here.

"I swear to you, Jack." His voice was shaky and small. Jack hadn't seen him act like that since Lisa and it scared the hell out of him, especially because Owen wasn't around anymore. He remembered the man talking about waking up old traumas before, and now Jack needed to be sure that he hadn't pushed the wrong button after all. "I've never lied to you. Not about that. Everything I've told you–"

"Oh, come _on_, Ianto." Jack felt powerlessness course through him. He wasn't angry anymore; just exhausted. Maybe it was something else; maybe he didn't even realise he was lying. Compulsive lying, wasn't it? Maybe it was something like that. Or maybe Ianto wanted him to think just that so he would leave him alone. "Don't you think it's a bit late for that?"

"Everything I've told you," Ianto repeated, his voice rising again. "About my childhood, about my parents, it's the truth. Same goes for Rhiannon. I'm not lying. She just doesn't know it."

Jack frowned and stared at him, idly wondering if Ianto had finally lost it. "Sorry?"

"Exactly what I said." Ianto had gone back to whispering and his eyes were still wide and asking for understanding. "Think about it."

And he did. When it finally hit him, Jack closed his eyes. God, he'd been stupid. So _stupid_. Different parents. One of them was probably adopted.

"Oh, Jesus Christ."

"Pretty much."

"She doesn't know about it, does she?"

"No."

"Are you planning on telling her?"

"No. Did you Retcon her after you spoke with her?"

"Yes."

"Good."

He wanted to say that he was sorry, but didn't bother. Ianto was often irritated by people doing it ('why would they say sorry if it's not their fault?') and plus, Jack didn't feel in the mood for giving tasteless apologies for things Ianto had carried with him all through his life.

"I– I didn't know," he offered instead.

"Few people do," Ianto said softly and then met his eyes. "Jack, God knows I've lied to you about a lot of things and what I've hidden from you is even more. And I know that the everything I've chosen to share with you isn't really that big; it's all bits and pieces. But for what it's worth – and that might not be much – what I've shared with you are all the important things. They might be bits and pieces, but they're the ones that– well, you know." He smiled. "The best bits. The impressive ones. The ones that make me who I am. That's why I've told you about them, after all."

Jack stared at him and then started laughing helplessly. "Ianto Jones," he said, shaking his head. "You're the single most honest liar I have ever met."

"You love it."

Jack kept smiling, and just like he'd done almost two years ago after a week-long death, brought a still hesitant Ianto into his embrace and pressed him against himself as Ianto buried his face into the crook of Jack's neck with a small smile of his own.

"Not always," he said quietly. "But if that's as good as it's gonna get, then I'll have you like that anyway."


	6. Envy

**Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay. Life got in the way. This was a bit hastily written, but I think it turned out well enough in the end. Still a bit anxious about it, mind you.**

**Important note: Nina Rogers is a character from the Torchwood book **_**Consequences **_**and things progressed pretty much like they do in this story – that's what the quotes are there for – except it was from her point of view. And yes, she did fancy Ianto. In case someone's wondering, they Retconned her at the end.**

**Enjoy and as always, I'd love to know what you think.**

_Envy – the need to have better or be better than others._

_Nina Rogers was sitting in Cardiff University's Library and she was trying not to look like she was staring at the Fit Bloke. He was standing, looking a little lost, in the History section. Fiddling with his cuff-links, he seemed to be waiting for something to happen._

_And Nina knew that something would happen. Because it wasn't just that she fancied him. She knew him._

Ianto had told him a million times now that this was just a case like any other. She was just some girl, he'd said, one who seemed to be always in the wrong place at the wrong moment, but just a girl nonetheless. That was all.

And yet Jack felt compelled to search through the files they had on site. He had every right. She had been a witness, and more than once at that. It was only natural for him to check the details.

Nina Rogers, a first-year History student (which, Jack remembered ruefully, had been Ianto's subject in University) from Cardiff. There were tons of personal details, but what had attracted Torchwood's attention in the first place had been the fact that she always seemed to be where their cases were. It happened to be a coincidence, but Ianto wanted to investigate further, claiming that if they were in any way compromised, she had to be dealt with.

Jack looked at the photo that had pulled up on the screen in front of him. Nina Rogers was young, with dark glossy hair that fell around her face, pale skin and dark brown eyes. Exactly the type Ianto would go for, Jack thought just as Gwen joined him by the monitor.

"Is that her?" she asked. "She's nice."

"She is," Jack agreed grimly. "What do we do with her?"

"I thought Ianto was going to decide," Gwen put in. "After all, it's him she remembers."

And she'd mentioned him to her best friend, too; they had transcripts of the conversations. Personal space was an unfamiliar concept to the Torchwood Institute.

"You think Ianto would want to deal with this?" Jack asked sceptically.

"Yeah, why not? It's not like he has to do much. Invite her for a drink, put the Retcon in said drink – easy as anything."

"And she'll agree, just like that, to get a drink from a perfect stranger?"

Gwen scoffed. "Not everyone out there is a paranoid nutter who's afraid you'll put an amnesia pill in their drink, Jack. Of course she'll take a drink from him. She thinks he studies in her University – or at least that's what she told that Jess girl – and he's just her type anyway."

Jack frowned. "What do you mean?"

"He's her age, smart, pretty and, well, if he's interrogated her as a witness, even if she doesn't remember it completely, then she's seen him do his thing too."

"'His thing'?" Jack laughed. "Ianto has a crime scene thing?"

"He does." Gwen seemed to think it was obvious. "When he isn't pretending to be a police officer, anyway. Haven't you seen him? He does that thing. The 'tragic hero that just saved the day but now needs information' thing. And young, easily impressed people are suckers for that kind of thing."

"It's happened more than once?"

"It's happened every time when our witness doesn't fall for your tricks," Gwen said absent-mindedly and Jack saw her looking around the Hub. "Mind you, where's he gone?"

"Outside. In the University Library, actually. Rift activity. Double the luck if he meets our girl too, since he'll be able to deal with it immediately."

"What's the deal with you today?" Gwen asked, a small smile playing on her lips. "This is the first time he's shown interest in a human being that happens to live outside of this building. Leave him be." Jack huffed. "Wait a second. Are you _jealous_?"

"Don't be ridiculous," the Captain waved her off. "Ianto is free to do as he pleases. Let's see how well that's gonna end when he retcons her."

"He might not retcon her at all," Gwen said pensively. "We do need recruitments, after all."

"Absolutely not," Jack snapped and Gwen snickered quietly, shaking her head. "The last thing I need here is another person Ianto's age. You know what Tosh said when I hired him? 'I didn't know we were holding a kindergarten here'. I'm not planning on continuing the tradition."

"Oooh, are we the two grown-ups here now? It would be nice. What brought this on, anyway? 'Ianto' and 'immature' don't fit in the same sentence usually."

"He's as mature as he's supposed to be. He's _twenty-four._ He's barely even an adult at all. And he could die at any moment–"

"Don't say that." Gwen's voice had lost all humour and he could hear the stony edge to it without so much as looking at her.

"But he could! He could and there's nothing I can do about it."

"Jack, he's not a child," Gwen said softly and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know that when compared to your age he's really young – hell, even compared to_ me_ he's really young and out difference is only eight years – but he chose this job. He knows what he's doing."

"Does he, really?" Jack knew that his tone was bitter, but he couldn't help it. "He doesn't know what anything else would be like! It's always been Torchwood for him. He's never had a normal life."

"And have you ever thought that maybe he doesn't want a normal life?" The question didn't require an answer and Jack didn't have one, so she kept going. "He's chosen this consciously."

"He could still be in University!" He was only digging himself deeper into his fears and he was well aware of it, but he couldn't stop himself. "And maybe now that he's there, he'll remember what it was before Torchwood came along and ruined everything and maybe he'll want–"

"Ah," Gwen said quietly. "I think we got to the heart of the problem." When Jack just stared at her, stunned, Gwen smiled and tapped him on the shoulder. "Glad I could be of assistance, but if you don't have any more work for me, I'm going home. Good luck with Nina."

"Thank you," the Captain said, even more miserable than before.

**o.O.o**

_Nina Rogers was standing on an invisible lift as it descended into a secret underground base. She wasn't as surprised as she thought she should be, but she was taking the opportunity to hold onto Ianto's arm._

_The lift reached the floor and he led her off it. Nina stood there, looking around at the madness. "I don't know who I am anymore."_

"_That's life, though," said Ianto. "I mean, I used to have a girlfriend."_

_Before Nina could reply, an arm appeared between them. She looked up as Captain Cheese grinned down at her. Then the Captain pulled Ianto into a hug and gave him a tender kiss._

_Nina felt like crying. But she didn't. "Oh, bloody typical. You're gay. Great. No, that's just brilliant, that is. There was me thinking that the one thing, the one good thing that might come out of all of this was a few drinks, a night out, maybe even a quick..."_

_She trailed off as the two men grinned at her._

"_Yeah," said Ianto. "I think you're still human."_

As the invisible lift descended into the Hub, Jack stared up at it and could just make out the two figures on it. One was Ianto, and the other one was smaller, shorter and clinging cautiously to his lover. The Captain gritted his teeth.

Just as the lift clicked on its place on the ground, Jack reached between the two of them and brought Ianto closer for a kiss, then smiled at the young woman's groan.

Okay, maybe Gwen was right after all. Maybe he was afraid that Ianto would prefer something else; a life that would start with continuing the education which Torchwood had interrupted and it could go on with a successful career and anything else he might want instead of the life he had in the Institute – full of risks and madness, and the same horrors every day.

Maybe she'd been right. And maybe there was a certain pleasure in making sure that at least for now, as they spoke to Nina, Ianto stood firmly by his side.

**o.O.o**

_Jack had said that they could still help her if she needed it. That they had a special magic pill that would clear recent events from her mind. She'd said no. She'd had enough of alien things in her head. She just wanted to go home. She'd had enough of Torchwood._

_Then she'd kissed Ianto on the cheek and given him her number in case he ever decided to go straight. He'd laughed, linked arms with Jack and strode off._

"Gwen was right about you and witnesses," Jack noted as they made their way back to the Hub. The weather was nice for the first time in weeks and they'd decided to soak up as much sunlight as they could, so they weren't really in a hurry. His lover sent him an inquisitive look. "She said that you had a way to make them open up. She called it, quote, the 'tragic hero that just saved the day but now needs information' thing."

Ianto laughed; a rich, full-bodied sound that took Jack by surprise. After they'd lost Tosh and Owen, there had been very little heartfelt laughter, and it was good to see that the life was returning back into his people, especially since he could feel it happening inside his own soul as well.

"Yeah? And do you think it's working?"

"Can't say," Jack admitted and gripped Ianto's hand a little tighter. "Works on me, though," he admitted, voice a little more bitter than he'd been aiming for. Sometimes he wished Ianto didn't have as much tricks up his sleeve that could work on him.

Ianto smiled in return. "Good to know."


	7. Pride

**Author's Notes: I'm sorry for being so late with this. My computer broke, and then I didn't have the inspiration to do it at later point when it was fixed. There was a prompt on tumblr that I liked, though (****Ianto saying "Raxacoricofallapatorius", and ****Jack getting turned on by it****) so there we are now. After that we'll get to the seven heavenly virtues, so I hope you like the last part of the sins. **

_Pride – a need to be the most beautiful; a need for public acceptance in all acts. They find ways to be better than those around them. Pride is said to be the original and most deadly of the seven sins._

Jack winced as the alarms all around the Hub started blaring with all their might. He'd have to get Ianto to look into this; a near-heart attack every time there was a space ship in orbit wasn't really something he enjoyed.

Thinking of Ianto... Jack peered through the windows of his office and saw him on his workstation, typing away furiously as he tried to read all the information that had pulled up on the screens. He looked up from the keyboard and glanced at Jack's office, gesturing at him to come down. The Captain could read the word 'intruder' on his lips.

"In the Hub?" Jack asked as he made his way down the stairs and looked around the place. There was no one; not even Gwen and he frowned. He'd tried to let his employees relax a bit during the several last days, but he hadn't meant to let them do what they like. He suspected that Ianto was hanging about at this unholy hour only because he was still organising the never-ending chaos of the archiving. There was, after all, nearly a century and a half's worth of it, so he was never left without work. What was stranger, though, was the fact that he seemed to enjoy it.

"In our atmosphere," Ianto replied and pointed at the screen when Jack came by his side. "Look. They usually live on the edges of the Milky Way, but they've come forward. Again. And you said you've chased the last one away."

"What is it?" Jack asked, squinting against the screen. "Tourists?"

"Aren't they always?" Ianto's voice was full of dark amusement. "Tourists from Raxacoricofallapatorius never mean anything bad."

Jack stared at him, only half-aware that his mouth was open. "I know exactly one person who can pronounce that." And the northern accent really wasn't doing the same things to it that Ianto's soft and yet brisk accent did.

Ianto shrugged immodestly. "Well, to pronounce anything of that sort you have to be either very linguistically gifted or Welsh, and I happen to be both." And really, 'linguistically' said with that very same accent only made things worse. Or better. It really depended on the point of view, and from where Jack was standing, the view was _fantastic_.

"What is it?" Ianto asked and looked up when Jack didn't react to his previous words. The Captain felt a small smile spreading on his lips.

"Say it again."

"Raxacoricofallapatorius," Ianto repeated slowly and Jack grinned, delighted, reaching to trace his lover's lips with one finger, only to have him swat his hand away, irritated. "God, Jack, will you ever stop with that thing? Everyone in Cardiff has the same accent and I don't see you jumping them because of it."

Jack clicked his tongue. "It's different. It's even noticeable in my name. No one says it the way you do."

Ianto's lips curled into a pleased smile. "Jack," he said and the Captain was quite sure that he'd broadened his accent on purpose. There was one single syllable in that word and yet the sound was rich and full and brought thoughts of satin and wine under the moonlight in a summer night.

"See?" He pointed at his lover. "This only proves my point. When anyone else in this country says it, it sounds–"

"German?" Ianto asked, raising one eyebrow. By now, Jack was pretty sure that he was doing that on purpose as well. On first look, Ianto looked like someone extremely modest and even shy, but Jack knew that his lover was very much aware of the effect he had on other people and the way he looked in general. No one who thought little of himself would ooze that much self-confidence. That, and Jack was also quite certain that people that lacked any sort of vanity didn't spend a hundred quid a month on hair product. Not that he had any right to judge someone in that department.

"Yes! It's such a plain name, and you make it sound like it's a whole sentence all by itself."

Ianto laughed. "It is a rather plain name," he agreed. "But when it's you? It's not even a sentence." This time it was him who reached up to trace Jack's features with those long, delicate fingers. "It's an entire story."


	8. Chastity

**Author's Notes: So! The first one of the virtues, which also means that I'm jumping straight to the part after the reveal. There's a short summary sewn in for those who don't remember/haven't read the other story, which is probably why it came out a bit longer than expected and the theme isn't that easily recognizable – even if it is the backbone of the whole chapter – but I hope you like it anyway and don't be afraid to let me know what you think!**

_Chastity – courage and boldness; embracing of moral wholesomeness and achieving purity of thought._

Ianto was still curled up in one of the chairs by the TARDIS console when Jack entered the room, trying to be as careful in his approach as possible. Mere hours ago, when he and the Doctor had found Ianto – having fallen into the Vortex after the House of the Dead and pulled out by the Shadow Proclamation for examination – the reunion after a year of pain had been the Captain's most daring dream. Ianto, though, had been almost feverish after the treatment he'd been getting and the Doctor had thrown Jack out of the room as quickly as possible.

It hurt. He had to admit it, even if he knew that the Doctor had picked him up with the TARDIS only because he was trying to find the other Time Lord and because he knew that Jack had known him. It hurt to be treated like that even after he'd given up on expecting anything good from the Doctor. And it hurt even more because he had the audacity to take Ianto away from him.

"Hey," Jack said quietly. "The Doctor said that you'd feel better if I was as far away as possible, but–"

Ianto looked up. His face was still deadly pale and his eyes were slightly unfocused, but he managed to fix them on Jack anyway. "He's wrong. It's good to have you here."

"Oh. That's good to know." Jack let out a small, nervous laugh. "Because– well. He said that after being into the Vortex, your whole system went overload and that the Shadow Proclamation's experiments made it even worse. He thought that having me in the room would be a– bad idea." He'd also said that all a young, confused Time Lord needed was rest and the last thing said young, confused Time Lord needed was a fixed point in time, but Jack decided to skip the last part. It would only rile Ianto up.

"I think it's nice," Ianto said then and drew Jack's attention back to him. "Having you around, I mean." He reached for Jack's hand and Jack held it, desperate to feel Ianto's touch on his skin once again.

It was almost surreal, he thought as he fell down on his knees next to Ianto's chair and leant into the man's caress as he started kneading his fingers through Jack's hair. His skin was cold (still the skin of a dead man, or it would have been if he was human, despite the fact that he was here, here in every sense of the word), and when his wrist brushed Jack's fingers, the Captain could feel the frantic beating of his hearts, not yet having calmed down from the shocks his body had taken recently. It was surreal having Ianto looking down at him when all of a sudden Jack was aware that he'd lived an entirely different life from the one the Captain had heard about.

A Time Lord. His Ianto – the one with the dry humour and beautiful smile and just the right amount of attentiveness; the calm, reserved and controlled Ianto that he knew – had been something else entirely all along.

"What do you remember?" He asked, voice still quiet as if he was subconsciously afraid that he'd break a spell. "What happened from your point of view?"

Ianto sighed, but his fingers didn't cease the soothing motion over Jack's scalp. Hack wondered if he was even aware that he was doing it. "I remember two timelines," he started. "One more strongly than the other. In that one, we woke up and you told me that we had to meet a man at St. Helen's hospital for the hitchhiker thing. Then, when we were on our way, Gwen called us about the House of the Dead and the Rift activity she'd picked up there." And this was, Jack guesses, where the two timelines had parted. "Well, it turned out not to be Gwen in the end, but you already know that. She said that she was on her way and you told me that you'd get there later and that I should wait for you in the House of the Dead." Ianto took a deep breath as if it was extremely hard for him to keep talking. "I was waiting for you to come and when you did, I could tell that something was wrong. You looked– different, and you acted as if you hadn't seen me for months. I thought it might be a future you, but didn't say anything – paradoxes had to be avoided and all that. And then you dropped the bomb. In your time, I'd been dead for six months, and somehow, that time was now. You said, you've came to see me, but I wasn't like the other ghosts. You knew it, and I could feel it: the others weren't fully there; you couldn't touch them. I've been taken out of my own timeline and, as it turned out, Syriath was responsible for it, because she wanted the Rift opened. And you wanted to do it–"

"Of course I did," Jack cut him off. "What else could I do?"

"Leave me there!" Ianto's eyes were gleaming with anger now. "It wasn't your choice to make. The whole would burn."

"I'm tired of thinking about the world and giving up everything because of it," Jack gritted out. "I'm tired of sacrificing the people I love because the world needs saving. I want to think about what _I _want every once in a while."

"And would it have been worth it? Seeing an entire planet destroyed, taken over by someone like Syriath, just so you could save one single life?"

"_Your_ life."

"It doesn't matter!"

"It does to me."

"And that was your main mistake," Ianto hissed. He seemed to be pissed off enough to forget for all the other problems they had on their hands right now – for example the fact that Jack still wanted to know why on Earth he was only now being informed of Ianto's species – and keep on the conversation. "That was your weakness. You would have let it all go to save one life."

"I love you." Jack's voice was low and pained and everything he hadn't allowed it to be until now, and silence settled over them. Ianto seemed to search for something to say, then closed his eyes.

"It still doesn't matter. It shouldn't have mattered when the world was in danger."

"Don't you think that maybe – just maybe – I've tried to tell myself that?" Jack was trying to keep his temper down, but it wasn't really working. "Don't you think I've been trying to convince myself for three years – one of which, I might add, I spent thinking you were dead – telling myself that I shouldn't love you? Don't you think that I noticed that we've been dancing around it for as long as we properly knew each other? And when you finally said it in Thames House, I thought I didn't deserve it. _I_ was the one who wasn't worth it. And all I said was 'don't'. I don't know if you even remember that." Ianto shook his head wordlessly and Jack gave a short, bitter huff. "Well, I do. It's crystal clear. And I had to live with it for six months. I was desperate; I just wanted to see you again. And there you were. All the other ghosts were just echoes, but you... you were _there_. I could hold you in my arms, and it was overwhelming because you were everything. In that moment, you were everything. And I wanted it – you – more than I've ever wanted anything in my life. The world could quite literally go to hell and I wouldn't care, and that scared the hell out of me.

"But you tricked me. I was just allowing myself to hope that perhaps, just once, the world could give me everything it owes me. I could get you back, but no. Everyone else would leave and come back to the world of the living, but not Ianto Jones. No, what Ianto Jones does is lie. Lie and lie until I got lost in it all. You told me that you'd leave with me and then left me there. It wasn't your choice to make," he echoed Ianto's words from minutes ago.

"I couldn't let you kill yourself because of me. No, Jack," he raised his voice to avoid any potential protests. "That's exactly what it was; it was a suicide. And I couldn't let you do it."

"Then why did you have to be the big damn hero who had to save the day and then–"

"Would you love me if I wasn't?"

The question was quiet and yet it took Jack completely off guard. "What?"

"If I wasn't what I was there; if I had walked out with you and let you choose me over the world, would you love me then?" Ianto seemed genuinely interested in the response and Jack's shoulders sagged as realisation hit. "You told me you loved me when I decided that the world was worth it, because that was why you loved me in the first place."

"Because you've always tried to save everyone before thinking for yourself, yes." He had to admit it to himself. "And what happened then? After I saw you last?"

Ianto's hand had resumed its motions through Jack's hair. "Then I fell into the Rift. Straight into the Time Vortex. It was– well. I've seen it when I was a kid, of course, but being _inside_ it is completely different. The Doctor said that a human would have been shattered to pieces. As it was, I could see everything at the same time – even more so than usual – and it hurt. Not gonna lie, it hurt a lot.

"And then they pulled me out. The Shadow Proclamation, I mean. There was a woman who spoke to me, but I couldn't answer. I couldn't do anything, really; I was completely delirious. She gave me the 'Time Lords aren't supposed to exist' speech every day and injected some strange things into me to keep me alive and get me in good enough health to answer her questions. It went on for about two weeks, and then I heard the TARDIS materialising and let me tell you," Ianto let out a bitter laugh, "at the time it was the best thing I've heard in my life." When there was no reaction from Jack, Ianto kept going. "How did you find me, actually? Were you travelling with the Doctor and just stumbled on that God-forsaken asteroid, because in that case, luck is on my side today."

"Travelling?" Jack shook his head. "He picked me up a few hours ago; he was trying to find you. He thought you were with me."

"...Oh." Ianto seemed surprised, but managed to smile anyway. "Well. Glad you managed it, then. Who knows how long I would've been there otherwise?"

Jack smiled in response and got up, carefully straddling Ianto's hips so they could make eye contact while on the same level. He was still tense, not letting his lover take his whole weight like he usually did, and Ianto seemed to pick up on it, because he looked irritated.

"I'm not going to break, Jack! I'm not made of glass."

Jack didn't respond but lifted his hand so he could trail his fingers over Ianto's cheekbones; those familiar cheekbones you could rest a coffee mug on and that were now even more prominent than usual. Ianto was even thinner than Jack remembered him being, but that was the most minor difference about him. He was colder, more alien, more unknown than before, and Jack was ready to get to know his body once again until he could recognise his lover in it all.

Ianto's hand mirrored him and came to rest on Jack's face as he brought the Captain in for a kiss. Even that was different, but not terribly so; Ianto's tongue still coaxed his lips open, just like Jack remembered him doing, and then he trailed it over Jack's teeth until he shivered in his arms.

"Everything is going to be fine, Jack," Ianto murmured against his lips. "If there's one thing I can promise you, it's that everything is going to be okay."

And this time, Jack knew, Ianto could afford to mean it.


	9. Absistence

**Author's Notes: This one is really short compared to the last one; sorry about that. It just felt right to end it when I did, though, and it's late at night – again – so I don't have enough power left in me to think of something more complex. I hope you enjoy it!**

_Absistence__ – constant mindfulness __of others and one's surroundings; practicing self-control._

When Jack woke up, he immediately knew that he wasn't in his room on the starship. He tried not to move so he could assess his surroundings without letting anyone know that he was awake, which wasn't really all that hard for someone trained for situations such as this one. A fair amount of people out there wanted to kill him, but why would any of them put him in a bed afterwards? It didn't make sense.

Another thing that didn't make sense was that his initial reaction to everything around him was _Ianto._ The air smelled like him; like apples and thyme and lavender – the smell of his shampoo and hair gel – and even that damned fabric softener he used for his sheets _because it smells nicer this way, Jack_ and that had always made Jack feel the need to sneeze.

There was also someone's breath tickling his neck and someone's cool hands wrapped around his waist, which was even stranger. There hadn't been anyone recently, so who...

And then he remembered.

Jack breathed in sharply and heard a low chuckle just beside his left ear. "Hello there."

The Captain felt a huge smile make its way onto his face as he turned to face Ianto and then grunted, surprised, when he flipped them over until he could stare down at Jack, those bright blue eyes warm and gentle and so overwhelmingly deep that he could get lost in them forever.

He still couldn't quite believe that this was actually, properly happening. That he had the privilege to see a miracle happen and the right to see his lover, smiling and lively and much more open than he had ever been. He'd actually got a second chance.

"Hello," Jack managed at last and Ianto gave him a crooked grin before leaning down for a kiss that was much more thorough than the one they'd shared last night.

Ianto was just the same under his hands, even if he was colder to the touch now, and Jack tried to get more comfortable, one of his feet sliding up Ianto's calf. It had always been his way of telling his lover what he wanted and Ianto usually complied happily but this time, he froze completely.

"What is it?" Jack asked, frowning as he pulled back from the kiss. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just–" Ianto closed his eyes and sighed. "It might not be a good idea to– try that, at least for a while."

"Why wouldn't we?" Jack didn't want to be impatient; he wanted to give Ianto time to recover. But when they'd got so close... "You were_ really_ up for it a minute ago." He pointedly looked down and Ianto's pale face flushed as he hid it in the crook of Jack's neck with that adorable little smile he usually adopted when he was ashamed beyond belief. "Actually, I think you still are."

There was a curt, nervous laugh from his lover when he looked at Jack again. "It might backfire spectacularly, though. Sex with Time Lords isn't always pleasant. For humans, that is."

Jack scoffed. "Like hell it isn't. We've had sex before, in case you haven't noticed and – by your own words – it happened mostly after you already knew you were a Time Lord. And you were fantastic."

Ianto rolled his eyes. "We aren't talking about my personal qualities in bed, Jack. The perception filter was still working by that time, so it affected me as much as it affected you, especially when we were together. So it was, well. Closer to what you expected it to be."

"What makes it so inconvenient, then?" God, let it be something they could get over. It just occurred to him now that maybe there was a reason why Time Lords weren't as focused on sex as other species were.

Ianto still seemed highly uncomfortable with the topic, but he managed to keep going anyway. "It's, uh. Rather intense. And it can go on for... quite some time."

Jack grinned up at him. "I don't see the problem."

"It can go on for hours."

"Hours as in–"

"As in four or five hours."

"Oh." Jack gulped. "That's– I could get used to that, actually."

"I'm sure you could." Ianto leant down to bite – not particularly gently – at his neck and Jack shivered. "Actually, I can see some very good opportunities arising out of it. Maybe not today, though."

"Yeah," Jack mumbled vaguely, not particularly interested in the last part. He squirmed under Ianto as his lover's lips wandered up his jaw line with light, deliciously frustrating kisses. "We could– we _should_ wait if you want to– Ianto, you're making waiting kinda difficult here." He gritted out at last when the assault over his senses didn't stop.

"Sorry." Ianto immediately pulled back. He was still on top of Jack, though, and the Captain couldn't help but admire the self-control his lover was displaying. Ianto's eyes were closed and his breathing was perfectly measured as he took in deep, powerful breaths. Jack had seen that very expression before; it was usually the one Ianto got when he was trying to calm himself down.

"Did you tell the Doctor that I'm sleeping in your room?" Jack asked, trying to distract him. It was beyond him how the TARDIS had managed to build an exact copy of Ianto's room of his dreams – also known as the bedroom in his flat in Cardiff – in the matter of hours, but he felt rather comfortable in the familiar atmosphere of wood and brass and satin that just screamed 'Ianto'.

"He does," Ianto said, rolling off of Jack and onto the mattress next to him. "He came to check up on me just a minute before you woke up; wanted to see if I felt better. He didn't look best pleased, but that was to be expected."

"Yeah," Jack agreed wistfully. This Doctor seemed to feel better about him than the last one had, but that wasn't much in the way of improvement. "Well, I suppose we'll have to prove him wrong, right?" He said at last. "Make him see that a paradox and a Time Lord can make it work, can't we?"

Ianto beamed at him. "Definitely." He cupped Jack's face with his palms as he kissed him – a chaste and short and yet breathtaking kiss, or so it felt to Jack. "And we have all the time in the world to do it."


	10. Liberality

**Author's Notes: Sorry for being so late with this and I'm sorry that it's so short, but the prompt was being a bit difficult and it wouldn't let me decide which way I wanted it to go, and also, I have about three more fics that are currently in the making and are fighting for territory in my mind. It's not strictly by the prompt even in its finished version, so I hope I didn't go too far off the mark and I also hope you like it. And, as usual, don't be afraid to let me know what you think of it.**

_Liberality – generosity; nobility of thought or actions._

The planet they'd landed on was nothing like Jack had first imagined it to be. When the Doctor had told them about it, he'd imagined it as some sort of never ending desert with an unforgiving sun glaring down at it. Not that it was far from that, really; it was just that it had been impersonal before. Just a planet they'd visited, nothing more.

And of course, that had been the idea, or so he thought. Jack strongly suspected Ianto behind the plan that had led them to their current situation, and he wasn't sure yet if he was angry or grateful to him for it.

Because this? This was familiar. This was everything he'd been before he'd forced himself to leave and never look back, and he had never really allowed himself to think about it, either. It had been a closed case even in his own head that this was it, that he'd never come back again. Not ever. Not after what had happened.

"Is it too much?" Ianto's voice was quiet and he could hear his polished shoes sinking in the sand. Every sound and movement around him was intensified now; it was much more than it had ever been. He felt _open_. "We could leave if you'd like."

"No," Jack said quickly and leant back when he felt Ianto's arms slipping around his waist for support and then felt a gentle kiss being pressed against his neck. It was a habit of Ianto's to do that when he could feel that Jack needed it; a quiet way of saying, _I'm here. Everything's under control_. "No, it's fine. It was just– unexpected."

"Good unexpected or bad unexpected?" The Doctor asked as he made his way to them and Jack noticed the contemplating look he sent his way. The Captain found it in himself to smile.

"Not sure yet. What century are we in?" He wasn't sure he wanted to know, either. What if he'd ended up here in seemingly linear time; returning when having aged visibly twenty-something years, when everyone could recognise him?

"The fifty-third," Ianto said carefully and let go of Jack so he could stand by his side. "So I don't think there's a chance of anyone recognising you, unless your neighbours are _really _long-lived."

Just like usual, Ianto – and his unfathomable ability to make the most inappropriate and potentially painful jokes in the worst possible moments – were what really made Jack come out of his stupor, and he grinned at his lover. "No danger of that, I'd say. You should have seen my nearest neighbour. When I was ten, she was already about a thousand years old."

Ianto returned the smile immediately – it _had_ been his idea after all, Jack thought, or he wouldn't have been so happy that Jack liked it – and, when the Captain reached to take his hand and lead him to where the waves shattered against the beach, Ianto took it without a second thought.

**o.O.o**

After all those years – more than Jack wanted or needed to count – coming back home on Boeshane Peninsula was something he'd never even dreamt of doing. It wasn't that it was impossible; far from it, especially since he'd came on board of the TARDIS, but it had just never occurred to him to do it. Not after he'd gone so far away and had done so much since the last time he'd been here.

And yet, it felt natural to sit here, on the beach, with Ianto by his side. He looked like he belonged on that beach despite his five hundred quid shoes and his Armani suit, both of which were currently in danger of getting soaked up by the occasional waves, and he was staring at the distance where the sun was throwing its last rays.

He wasn't very talkative today but then again, Ianto usually wasn't; not even with his newly found identity. He preferred the quiet appreciation and it was – just like usual – Jack who broke the silence in the need to say something.

"Thank you," he said softly and drew Ianto out of his trance as he stared in the horizon.

"What for?"

"For doing this. I know it was your idea and that you wanted it to be a surprise, so thank you."

Ianto shrugged. "I haven't done anything, really. I just wanted you to get on your feet. I know that the last several weeks have been... a bit too much." When Jack didn't say anything, he went on, still without looking at him. "And by that, of course, I mean that _I_'ve been a bit too much. It was a shock for you and you still miss whatever you believe you had when you still thought I was human."

The words stung, even if Ianto hadn't meant them that way, and Jack flinched. He'd tried his best to be understanding, but this Ianto was still a bit too alien, too foreign for him to talk with just yet. Logically, he knew that nothing had changed – that Ianto had been the same before and he just hadn't known it – but it was still difficult.

"You thought things were a bit too fast for me and you brought me home?" Jack asked with a small smile and Ianto shrugged again.

"You hate change."

"Not all change is a bad one," Jack said after a moment of silence in which he contemplated his lover's words. "And I'm not afraid of you."

"You've never seen anything good from Time Lords." It wasn't an objection to his earlier words, not exactly, but Ianto's voice was still some strange combination between unsure and hard as stone.

"Yes, I have. From you."

"You didn't know–"

"Me not knowing doesn't change anything."

There was a pause. "Maybe not," Ianto admitted. "You're right. Not that you've seen much good from me either."

Jack ignored him- they'd had this conversation at least a million times now – and reached for Ianto's hand to bring him closer until his lover's head rested on his shoulder. "If we were in the right century," he said quietly, "I could have introduced you to my family." Ianto gave a small scoff but Jack could see him smiling with the corner of his eye and went on. "My mother would have loved you; she'd have said that you were a great man and that it was a pleasure to have you in her house. Then she'd pull me somewhere on the side and tell me that as nice as you are, I'm an idiot for shacking up with a Time Lord."

This time Ianto outright laughed, the sound rich with amusement and when he pulled back to look at Jack, his eyes were twinkling.

"You think I'd have fit in here?" Behind the teasing gleam in his eyes there was genuine curiosity and Jack felt something inside him melting up as he stared at those familiar, bright eyes that would never have to fade again.

"I think you already do."


	11. Diligence

**Author's Notes: I'm so, so sorry for the late posting. I just got tangled into a million other fics I'm writing, some of them now available on AO3 for the Moffat appreciation week, and I got a bit behind on the things I'm writing. Thankfully, this is the only multi-chaptered fic I'm working on right now. This is also a bit shorter but – surprise, surprise – it's midnight again and I've got school tomorrow, so please excuse everything that is wrong with this chapter.**

**Again, the prompt is but a plaything for the ongoing plot. I hope you enjoy the chapter and, as always, feel free to let me know what you think of it.**

_Diligence – a zealous and careful nature in one's actions and work. __Budgeting one's time; monitoring one's own activities to guard against laziness._

The control room seemed to be on fire. It was terribly hot even when Jack was only approaching it down the corridor and soon enough, smoke welcomed him as well. It wasn't the best thing he could wake up to, but it wasn't the worst either; not when a certain someone was quite possibly responsible for whatever it was that had happened.

The Captain smiled as he tried to wave the smoke away from himself – and failed at it, not that he really minded all that much – and saw the faint outline of someone standing by the console and frantically pressing buttons all over it.

Jack neared Ianto from behind and nuzzled his neck affectionately. "Don't you think it's a bit early in the morning for setting our ship on fire?"

"I'll have you know that this has nothing to do with me," Ianto informed him indignantly without looking at him. "It just – happened. Probably someone was messing with it the night before."

"Of course."

"No, really." Ianto squirmed away uneasily when Jack tried to wrap himself around his lover and then turned around to face the Captain. "There's something wrong. I know how to fly a TARDIS, and this is not a properly functioning one."

"Maybe it's just not the same as yours," Jack suggested. "Didn't you say that you've been flying a battle TARDIS?"

Ianto sighed. "That's a TARDIS like any other, Jack," he explained patiently. "It's only called that to clarify that it's used when Gallifrey is at war."

Time Lords, Jack decided, were unnecessarily complicated beings. He'd found it out long ago and here Ianto was now, only proving his point further.

There was another sigh from his lover. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm used to being– this, and you're still trying to get used to it. I know that it might be a bit of a culture shock, but–"

"It's fine," Jack assured him hastily. "I'm getting around to it," he added when Ianto seemed doubtful. "And yes, it does take a bit of time to get used to the idea, but... it's as you said. I'm still accommodating to how we are now, but I couldn't be more grateful for how we are now."

Ianto scoffed. "Yes, of course. How could anyone wish for anything better? For their..." Ianto hesitated and Jack sighed inwardly. Still unable to find a word for it, then. "...partner to come back from the dead after one year and accidentally turn out to be an alien from a species that has been responsible for you being thoroughly traumatised not once or twice."

"Ianto," Jack's voice was sharper now. He hated it when Ianto descended into the darker moods that occasionally plagued him and hated it even more now that he knew that his lover had a lot of mistakes he thought he had to own up to. "I swear to every deity you don't believe in, if this train of thought doesn't stop exactly here..." Ianto opened his mouth to protest, but Jack cut him of firmly. "I mean it." He gripped the front of Ianto's shirt and brought him closer until their foreheads were almost touching and Ianto's ice blue eyes were nothing but a blur in front of him. "Don't ever say anything of that sort again. You're not the Doctor. You're not the Master. You haven't done anything–"

"I've done more than my fair share of betraying you, Jack, and we both know it," Ianto cut him off in the moment he got the chance and he sounded _defeated_. The Captain realised that this was what scared him the most – Ianto giving up. He could keep going – they both could – as long as they weren't giving up. "How am I any different? I never even apologised."

"You did," Jack said quietly, voice lower than before and it had the desired effect – Ianto was listening more closely now, his eyes on alert even from up close. "You know what makes you different from the other Time Lords I've met, Ianto Jones?" When Ianto didn't answer, Jack kept going. "Both the Master and the Doctor told me how wrong I was; how I practically went against all the laws in the Universe by existing. That was the word the Doctor used, 'wrong'. The Master liked better things. The freak, the anomaly, even his pet on occasion. To both of them, I was something illogical an unnecessary that even the TARDIS tried to shake off.

"And here you come," he went on, now with a small smile curling his lips. "You come back from the dead, as you said, in the single most dramatic way I have ever seen–"

"Look who's talking," Ianto said despite knowing that it would ruin the moment and the Captain threw him a scathing look. "Is that intake of breath really as necessary as you claim it to be?"

"Shut up," Jack continued unceremoniously. "My point here was, you come back from the dead and, when the Doctor tells me to stay away from you because my mere _presence_ could hurt you, you say no. You welcome it; you tell me that it's calm and soothing and generally a pleasure to have me around."

"You don't owe me anything just because I told you that it's okay to exist," Ianto objected and Jack couldn't resist rolling his eyes. Time Lord or human, Ianto Jones would never miss the chance to outspeak someone.

"I don't," Jack agreed. "But you didn't ask me why I wanted to be with you. You thought I was going to be uncomfortable around you because you're a Time Lord and they make me uneasy. And this is why you're wrong." Ianto just raised an eyebrow at him. "You were the Time Lord who thought that I was worth it." He paused for a moment, just to savour the thought, and then added, with a little less confidence, "You were the Time Lord who loved me."


	12. Patience

**Author's Notes: I'm a bit faster this time and this was written a bit one a whim, so I hope it's okay. It's kind of cheesy towards the end and bordering on smutty, but I chickened out of it. **_**Again**_**.**

**Anyway, I hope you like it and, as always, feel free to let me know what you think.**

_Patience – resolving conflicts peacefully, as opposed to __violence. The ability to forgive; to show mercy to sinners._

Jack had to admit at least to himself that this had been building up for quite a while. The tension in the TARDIS hadn't been lost on anybody, least of all him, but the Doctor and Ianto had both conveniently decided not to notice it. Either that, or they were genuinely clueless, but Jack had his suspicions.

Ianto was never clueless.

And the situation they had found themselves in now only served to prove that point, really, because Ianto was playing the peacemaker and it looked like he'd been prepared to do it.

'Stop it, Jack," he said quietly but firmly – he'd practically dragged the man in question with himself in the library so they could talk, but that didn't mean that they couldn't be heard – and the Captain stared at him in disbelief. He couldn't believe that he was doing this _again_. 'Don't look at me like that. She hasn't done anything that bad, except for calling you a paranoid idiot and you have to admit that she has a point."

Jack hissed in response. "And I'm sure that thing she's got on her wrist is the one I already own, and she wouldn't even let me touch it!"

Of course he'd side with her. Bloody typical, really, and also the only way any fight had gone since they were on board. Saint River and her fiercest protector.

"Why do you always have to be like that?" And really, how could his resolve _not_ falter when Ianto was looking at him like that? "I thought we talked about this."

No. He would never be able to get through this conversation if Ianto was going to do that thing with his eyes. That look that made them even wider and bluer than they already were and that just asked for understanding.

The thing was, he was tired of this. Of Ianto's worship of River as if she were a goddess among mere mortals. And perhaps he was still holding a bit of a grudge over the fact that Ianto had trusted her with his secret before trusting him.

"We did," Jack said quietly at last. "We did, I know. But it's just– she's full of secrets and has something that might just be my Vortex Manipulator. Doesn't that worry you?"

"No!" Ianto said it as if it should have been obvious and Jack's frown deepened. "It could be a coincidence or – I don't know. Who knows what the future holds? I'm pretty sure she hasn't taken it out of your helpless hands."

"You can't ignore the fact that it's at least a bit suspicious."

"I could ask her, if you'd like," Ianto offered and, when Jack just scoffed, carefully added, "What's this about, Jack? She's had the Manipulator since you've known her, why is it such a problem all of a sudden?"

Jack looked down to avoid Ianto's inquisitive gaze. He looked genuinely curious, and Jack knew that he didn't have to be hostile if he wanted to get anywhere with this. "You hardly know anything about her," he got out reluctantly in the end.

"I hardly knew anything about you either, back when we first met," Ianto pointed out gently. When Jack looked up to find his eyes, he realised that his lover was smiling. The Captain glared at him and Ianto's smile got all the wider.

"What's so funny?" Jack snapped and Ianto outright_ laughed_ at him and then leant in to plant a small kiss on his nose.

"You're adorable when you're jealous, you know," Ianto confided in him quietly and then proceeded to place equally chaste kisses down Jack's jaw line. "And I've seen it happen more and more lately, which is equal parts infuriating and sweet."

"I prefer to be adorable and sweet rather than infuriating," Jack pointed out breathily. There wasn't much point in denying Ianto's accusation of jealousy when he knew that his lover was right. Sure, people had been in love with Ianto before and Jack had almost always found it rather amusing, but for Ianto to be so fascinated by someone else? No. It had never happened, and he didn't like it one bit. He was flexible all right, but when he was in a relationship he'd worked so hard on having, he thought he had earned the right to be a little possessive. "And you're being ridiculous."

"And how did you get to that conclusion?" Ianto asked quietly and Jack smiled, pleased, when he heard the warmth in his voice just as cool, long fingers slid delicately up his ribs and over his chest. As innocent as Ianto tended to make himself look, Jack knew that he wasn't a stranger to a wide spectrum of seduction tactics when he knew he'd get something form it, and the Captain was a more than willing participant in his exploits.

"You're, uh," Jack mumbled, perfectly aware of the fact that their usual roles were reversed. "You know, if goes against every training you've had in One to trust mysterious unknown women who happen to be in prison in their free time and have your partner's Vortex Manipulator."

"Don't you think that this would be a bit too specific for One?" Ianto's voice was like rich silk sliding down his skin and he didn't feel the smallest hint of a wish to stop it from wrapping him in its clutches completely. "What we were supposed to do – well, when we were outside of out areas of expertise, really – was to have psychic training, basic knowledge on most martial arts, and recognise the Doctor on sight."

"And how did you do?" Jack was getting a bit breathless, but he couldn't do anything about it. Ianto's lips on his throat maintained a devastatingly precise concentration on the matter at hand and didn't seem inclined to stop doing so any time soon – not that Jack had any complaints.

There was something a little sad in the small laugh Ianto gave at that question. "Top of the class," he said quietly. "I was the first one who recognised the TARDIS on our cameras; I told Yvonne." Ah, so that was what the problem was. He was feeling guilty. "I could block everyone – even Yvonne, and she taught me – out of my head. And for the fighting?" Ianto's voice was down to a purr now as he bit Jack's neck and tugged at the skin gently with his teeth and, when he spoke again, that delicious timbre was ever lower than before. "I know how to take out any species we had listed in the Archives, and then some, with at least thirteen different kinds of firearm known to humans." He pulled Jack closer to himself by the hips and pulled back slightly to look him in the eye. "And don't even get me started on otherworldly weapons." There was that slightly manic in his eyes that tended to appear when he knew that he was being exceptionally brilliant, and Jack shivered in his arms involuntarily.

He'd been as tempted by Ianto's mind as much as he was by his body and his lover knew it very well. He also knew how to make good use of that information. Before the Captain could get his breath back, he found himself brought into a kiss and then pressed against one of the shelves where the other inhabitants of the TARDIS rarely wandered.

It was hours later that Jack realised that Ianto had made him forget all about his fight with River – and then with Ianto himself and it got him only a second more to decide that he didn't mind one bit.


	13. Kindness

**Author's Notes: I'm not as late this time, so I hope you like that one, even if it is rather short and written at the wee hours at night yet again. It's partly based on a tumblr prompt as well and I think it added up well so... enjoy!**

_Kindness – charity, compassion, friendship and sympathy without prejudice and for its own sake._

"Here." Jack carefully cleaned away the blood that was steadily dripping from Ianto's cheekbone. "Better now?"

"Still stings a bit," Ianto said, voice muffled by Jack's wrist where it brushed against his lips occasionally. "But it doesn't hurt anymore."

"Good." Jack was trying to be as business-like as possible and distance himself from the fact that it was _Ianto_ he was trying to save from blood loss. His hands wouldn't shake so much if he could just forget that it was Ianto. "We need to clean the other one as well."

Ianto nodded hastily and Jack could see that he was trying to brace himself. "Okay," he said tightly. "Go on."

"We've done thing before, remember?" He sure did. They'd killed an alien and its father had come later and put Gwen and Jack into some kind of waking coma. The Captain still remembered what it had felt like; being fully awake and yet unable to move. Ianto had found the antidote and had gone on guns blazing into the warehouse where some guy named Alix had been keeping it. As far as Jack knew, Ianto had killed – or, actually, blown up – every single one from Alix's minions and had got shot in the arm. They'd talked while Jack had cleaned it and it was still a memory laced both with endless worry and relief that everything had turned out all right in the end.

He took off Ianto's shirt and hissed when he finally found the wound. It hadn't looked so bad before and there was blood everywhere, but he gritted his teeth and got to work.

The space under the TARDIS console was spacious enough for them to work without having to drag Ianto to a makeshift infirmary the time machine had created or bringing him to their room, and Jack had sat Ianto in a chair as he placed the antiseptic, the bandages and everything else on the floor next to himself.

They'd just wanted to have a walk. A _walk_. Jack had thought that the 'interrupted by aliens' days were in the past, but evidently not. And here they were, and Ianto had been shot and Jack was trying to gather ever ounce of first aid training he had received at any point in his life so he could help him.

Ianto's muscles were tense under Jack's fingers and his skin was even paler than usual – which, to be honest, was downright frightening. Ianto's eyes were closed and his hands were gripping the arrests tightly. "I'll have to take the bullet out now," Jack said, almost in apology, and Ianto nodded stoically.

Jack took out one of the things that looked like something between a torture device and pincers and reached for the antiseptic, pouring it generously over the wound. Ianto's breathing hitched and the muscles in his arms became tight ropes as he gripped the armrests all the tighter. Any other time, Jack would have been silently admiring what had been laid out so delectably for him, especially as sweat started running down in glistening lines down Ianto's pectoral muscles, but as it was, his eyes were fully focused on the bloody hole in front of him.

"My eyes are up here, asshole," came Ianto's voice and jack laughed, the sound nearly choking him before he schooled his expression back into a serious one.

"How can you joke about this?" The Captain scolded and Ianto shrugged minutely. "You have a bullet halfway to your spine!"

"You know that I don't really give a– Oh, fuck."

Jack had done a very thorough job with the antiseptic and Ianto was, as it seemed, trying not to scream his lungs out. Jack looked up and found himself transfixed by the sight. Ianto's hair was plastered against his forehead, his pale skin covered in a thin sheen of sweat from his forehead to the waistband of his jeans and his muscles were shifting under it from the strain of keeping quiet, almost shimmering on the golden light of the TARDIS as he tried to withstand the pain.

"Get on with it," Ianto ground out and Jack fumbled with the instrument awkwardly as he tried to figure out how he was supposed to pull out a bullet with it. "Okay, okay."

Just then, the front doors upstairs creaked open and Jack looked up, relief flooding his entire body. "They're back!"

"Who is?" Ianto opened his eyes tentatively.

"The Doctor. And, as far as I can hear, Amy and Rory as well. Which means that I'll leave you to the tender mercies of an actual nurse."

Ianto's eyes widened and he shot back a panicked, "You can't!"

"He'll know better than me what he's doing," Jack said apologetically. "I'll stay by your side and hold your hand, too," he teased gently. Ianto glared at him.

"I'm not giving birth, Jack, I just want the bloody thing out before I regenerate hell of a lot sooner than I'd like to. So if you'd please get back to it–"

But it was too later. Jack was already calling for help and, before Ianto could as much as protest, everyone was coming down the stairs in a flurry of animated question as to what had happened.

The Captain knew how much Ianto disliked being coddled, but there wasn't much of a choice left.

**o.O.o**

Later on, when Ianto was already in his bed with bandages over his chest, he tried to make small talk. Jack frowned at him when he so much as opened his mouth – he wanted his lover to finally get some rest and a good night's sleep so he could recover faster – but he spoke anyway. "Rory did a really good job with this," he said, nodding down at his wound.

"Of course he did, he's a nurse," Jack said, but Ianto didn't seem convinced and he prodded further. "What's bothering you?"

"Both Rory and Amy," Ianto started carefully. "They're always so– open to me." He turned to Jack, then, his eyes now fully focused on him. "And the same goes for you. And I've done nothing to deserve that."

"You were shot!" Jack wasn't really sure how anyone could need care more than Ianto had in that moment.

Ianto shrugged. "Doesn't mean that I haven't been a right pain the arse ever since I've come back."

"You haven't done anything," Jack objected immediately.

"Oh, please." Ianto gave a short laugh. "You have no idea what to do with me. I can see it."

"I'm just getting to know you all over again," Jack said gently. It wasn't something new for Ianto's mind to wander into strange and previously unknown directions and, as much as he was used to it, he was still mystified by the directions his lover's train of thought tended to stray into.

"Sorry about that, then," Ianto chuckled. "I know it wasn't a nice process the first time around."

"Oh, trust me," the Captain said, wrapping an arm cautiously – mindful of the injuries – around Ianto's shoulders. "It's a privilege."


End file.
